Over time, Freemasons are known for the use of symbols capable of establishing the reaffirmation of various principles that strengthen the values of their practitioners. For many, this symbology should be the fundamental key to a mysterious set of messages that would cover up an obscure facet of this society. However, this posture of distrust and conspiracy is far removed from the place that symbols occupy in the Masonic universe.
A significant portion of Masonic symbols is represented by instruments used in construction. The greater sense of the construction reinforces, together with the Freemason, the constant need for moral, intellectual and spiritual improvement.
Not by chance, the evolutionary process of the Freemason is divided into several degrees that are related to a specific set of symbols. So, what is the meaning of each set of symbols present in a specific degree of Freemasonry?
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Masonic Symbols
Contrary to what is supposed, symbols would not have a ritualistic function or would involve some kind of magical ability. In fact, you will never have the opportunity to see a Freemason paying homage or bowing down to symbols. The symbols have the function of a text that was constructed by the participant of Freemasonry. With this, the Masonic symbolic universe sends a message that is intertwined with the process of reflection and particular learning of each follower.
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One of the most important symbols of Freemasonry is the triangle that bears an eye at its center. It references the Great Architect of the Universe, that being of omniscient nature who sees and judges everything. Coming from ancient Egyptian art, this symbol is strongly linked to the all-powerful creative principle that organizes the Universe. Thus, it is wrong to believe that Freemasonry is allied with a deist perspective of the world, as atheists and agnostics can also be part of such a brotherhood.
Another significant symbol of Freemasonry is the association between the square and compass, emerged in the 18th century. The square can refer to the square, the number four or the land itself. The compass, on the other hand, refers to the immensity of the heavens, the principle of unity and the circle. United, square and compass use the function of highlighting the importance of indispensable and fundamental association between the spiritual world and the material world.
THE trolley establishes the representation of an important principle for the Freemasons. In construction, this tool plays the discreet but significant role of applying the mortar that promotes the joint between the stones. Launched into the moral field, this tool highlights the need for love and tolerance among those who are united by the foundations of Freemasonry. As they “lose” their rough stone form (another Freemason symbol), the congregants seek perfection among their guests.
In fact, there are so many other symbols that are employed among Freemasons. Through knowledge and experience in Freemasonry, are yousthese symbols start to extrapolate the fixed dimension of a meaning of an invariable nature. As knowledge of the world and self-knowledge are processes of a dynamic nature, Masonic symbols consistently assume this same behavior.
By Rainer Sousa
History teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Masonic Symbology"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/a-simbologia-maconica.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
